Talking Technique: The Pinkie Workout (Video)

by Ari • 17 Jan 2019 — 2 minute read

Grab your gear, we’re headed to the gym!

This workout does your fretting fingers good. Especially the little one of the bunch…

The Pinkie!

We cannot address the fourth/fifth finger separation problem often enough! They just do not like to move separately!

And to make matters worse,, the pinkie is by far the weakest of the bunch, so it needs a little extra TLC!

So let’s give it the kind of attention that it just doesn’t get in our normal daily lives – let’s strengthen it and help it to move independently from the ring finger.

This video is chock full of exercises and drills to increase the independence of the little one. Remember to take it easy, stay relaxed and don’t overgrip.

The PDF will come in handy.

Here is the original post “The Pinkie Workout” on notreble.

Do you like Talking Technique? There is a new episode coming out next Monday! Make sure to subscribe to the talking technique newsletter on notreble!

Bass guitar by Marleaux

Soundmix by WolfTrackAudio.com

My favorite Strings (SR 2000’s by Dean Markley, tapered)

Favorite Looper: Infinity by Pigtronix

Fretwrap for muting when tapping by Gruvgear

Subscribe to Newsletter

September 17, 2026

Do you always have to copy the kick drum as a bassist?

September 11, 2026

MultiBass Collaboration in our Live Practice to make you Smile

August 30, 2026

The Tie Trick

August 21, 2026

The Power of your Accountability Coach

Shop on Amazon

Do you always have to copy the kick drum as a bassist?

Question from a Rhythm Matrix attendee about the first “Precision Drill” in the course where the goal is to be

Uncategorized

Ariane Cap
September 11, 2026

MultiBass Collaboration in our Live Practice to make you Smile

Effective Practice I just finished prepping every Live Practice class for September, and somewhere along the way I caught myself

Songs and Transcriptions

Ariane Cap
August 30, 2026

The Tie Trick

The Tie Trick to deal with syncopated rhythms There’s one type of rhythm that stumps many players cold: syncopation. Something

Rhythm Matrix and Groove

Bassist, author, educator.

Groove enthusiast and learning nerd.

Joined by 15,000+ Bassists

Your Instructor

Hi. I'm Ari.

As a bassist, I have toured/played/recorded with a variety of rock, Jazz, and funk bands, I have worked with some incredible producers (Keith Olsen) and musicians (Paul Hanson, Muriel Anderson) and I toured Brazil with Stu Hamm as a duo.

As a bass teacher, I have taught at London Bass Day, Gerald Veasley’s Bass Boot Camp, SBL, Truefire, notreble… I even ran my own music school for a few years before gigs took me back on the road.

One thing to know about me is that I teach because I am absolutely fascinated with the learning process. And I am obsessed with helping others realize their musical potential.

When I started playing bass, I excelled very quickly because I had an amazing teacher who taught me using a powerful method. This method transformed my playing so quickly that I passed a bunch of high-level university auditions and even tested out of entire classes at university even though I had been playing for only a very short time.

That’s what, many years later turned into one of my books, co-written with Wolf Wein, called “The Pattern System for the Bass Player”. I created entire systems of learning based on some of these ideas and wrote books and created courses together with Wolf. Our bass books have sold over 30,000 copies and garnered rave reviews.

I started teaching online in 2009 and have embraced technology as a powerful learning tool since then, never losing sight of the importance of providing feedback and personalized guidance to learners.

Read more…